A message from the chancellor: Celebrating a campaign milestone and honoring the generosity of others

Dear Carolina Community,

One of our University’s greatest strengths is that people from all over the state, the country and the world are invested in what we do. Friends, supporters and alumni who may not have set foot on this campus for a long time still recognize the value of Carolina’s role in the world. A great many of them decide to contribute.

That means people you have never met and will never know are invested in your success — as a student, a teacher, a researcher or a mentor. They have looked at what we are accomplishing at the nation’s first public university and want to be a part of it. They believe in us.

When you add up that generosity over time, it results in a University that is more capable, more accessible to students from all backgrounds and more ambitious in the challenges it can tackle. Yesterday, we announced that the Campaign for Carolina passed its $4.25 billion milestone and is still going strong. Since the campaign began in 2017, more than 200,000 people have thought about where they want to make a difference in the world and decided that Carolina is the right place to do it.

Living up to that trust is an enormous responsibility. Every year when I co-teach my class for graduate students on the big issues in higher education, we talk about the role of fundraising. One of the things I tell them is that donating is an act of hope, a belief that we can turn generosity into impact. It’s humbling and inspiring that so many people make that commitment to Carolina.

Honoring all those who contributed to the campaign means keeping our promise that Carolina will be affordable for any student who earns admission. It means curing disease and giving people hope for better lives. It means conserving our history, protecting our planet, strengthening our democracy and so much more. People give to Carolina because they know we’re working hard to put knowledge to work in the wider world, and I’m proud of that.

My thanks to all of those who’ve done so much to make the campaign a success and to all of you who make Carolina a place worthy of so much hope and trust.

Sincerely,

Kevin M. Guskiewicz
Chancellor